It’s tulip time. Between now and Mother’s Day, masses of these heralds of spring will burst into bloom at the Chicago Botanic Garden, which counts 750,000 bulbs among the treasures on its Glencoe campus. To see them in fields of dazzling color is to begin to understand the mania that seized Holland in the 17th century, driving the price of a single bulb to many times the annual earnings of ordinary Dutchmen.
Like the Chicago Botanic Garden, most of the nation’s famous gardens are closed. But a New York Times editorial last weekend urged that gardens and parks find ways to remain open—the public benefit outweighing the risks. The Botanic Garden was able to limit visitors during its ticketed winter light show; maybe they could use a similar reservation system to allow a manageable number of visitors to return? In the meantime—no public hours and no media visits.
Many of the Garden’s staff are working remotely and we’re bringing the Garden to the public through our website (chicagobotanic.org) and social media channels. We are continuing to care for our treasured 385-acre living museum, 2.6 million plants in our permanent collection, and production greenhouse operations. Behind the locked gates, a critical operations staff is in place, taking the same preventive measures as in any other public space.
What’s it like without visitors?
We are sharing a live feed of the Circle Garden where tulips were planted last fall and their colorful blooms are beginning to pop. v
